Stock futures for Canada's main stock index were little changed on Friday, as investors awaited the outcome of the crucial meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the release of national jobs data later in the day.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faltered 245.64 points, or 1.6%, to close Thursday at 14,937.
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 74.66 U.S. early Friday
December futures were down 0.1% Friday.
OPEC talks on oil production cuts reached a deadlock as the group's leader Saudi Arabia refused to grant sanctions-hit Iran exemptions from planned reductions
RBC raised the price target on Capital Power to $29.00 from $28.00.
CIBC cut the target price on Dollarama to $37.00 from $40.00
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported this country produced 94,000 jobs in November, driven by gains in full-time work. The unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percentage points to 5.6%, the lowest since comparable data became available in 1976.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 2.97 points Thursday to 566.08.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures fell on Friday as investors digested the latest government data on U.S. employment.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 101 points, or 0.4% to 24,806
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2,680,
Futures for the NASDAQ slid 26.5 points, or 0.4%, to 6,798
Vail Resorts is among a handful of companies declaring earnings today.
Figures released by the U.S. Labor Department Friday revealed that non-farm payrolls increased by 155,000 for the month while the unemployment rate again held at 3.7%, its lowest since 1969.
Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast the U.S. economy to have added 198,000 jobs in November. The monthly jobs report is often considered to be the most important economic data set of the month. Investors will watch the data closely upon release, looking for clues about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy moves.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index skidded 0.4%
Oil prices tacked on 76 cents to $52.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $2.30 to $1,245.90 U.S. an ounce.
